


sweet tea

by katsudonice



Category: Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: M/M, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-23
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-04-10 19:16:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4404053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katsudonice/pseuds/katsudonice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>weird rambling thing where keith tells nick a story about ellis</p>
            </blockquote>





	sweet tea

**Author's Note:**

> Keith is a ginger and no one can tell me otherwise

Nick had been afraid many times in his life. He’d been chased down by witches and his bitch ex-wife and that one time when he was a much younger man he’d been shot six times and barely lived to tell the tale. He had never, in his entire life, been more afraid than he was sitting on the porch of his boyfriend’s mother’s house with said boyfriend’s best friend: Keith.

 

The situation wasn’t even all that threatening.  It was a fine, hot Georgia afternoon and the birds were chirping and children were playing across the street. A year later and it looked like the infection had never touched this place.

 

“You know I half expected to be shot when we pulled up.” He attempted.  Keith hadn’t said much as they sat waiting for Ellis and Miss Sara Ann, she had been very specific about that, to return from picking up Ellis’ grandfather. In hindsight that was the man Nick should have feared the most because he apparently collected guns and was a little old fashioned.

 

“Not everybody in the south is homophobic.” Keith had surprised him. He was the gingerest of gingers with bright orange hair and freckles and one big, stunningly green eye. The other eye, however, was milky white and unseeing. He would have been drop dead gorgeous if it weren’t for the burns. Ellis had admitted that most of his Keith stories were made up for laughs, but the other man had apparently been badly burned as a child if the right half of his face, neck, and arm had anything to say about that. He was also whip smart and loved Ellis like a baby brother and that fucking terrified Nick.

 

“I’ve been friends with Ellis since we was seven years old. Been knowing he likes dudes since we was eight. Don’t bother me and he’s nice and quiet about it in town so nobody bothers him.” He took a sip of his drink because of course Miss Sara Ann offered them sweet tea because she was just so sugary fucking sweet.

 

And he had sort of been expecting something else when they’d finally driven in for a visit to Ellis’ family home. He hadn’t expected Miss Sara Ann to greet them both with kisses and cookies and sweet tea. She’d complained that they were both far too skinny and, “Oh Ellis! What have you done to your hair!” and she was such a loving mother.

 

His grandfather had been the classic crotchety old man: stink eye, firm handshake, and gruff introduction before he’d wandered off to do whatever it was grumpy old men in all camouflage did.

 

Then fucking Keith. Keith who was a head taller than him and ten years prettier. Keith who was living with Miss Sara Ann because his family was dead and someone had to take care of her because he’d taken her baby boy away. Keith had looked at him like he’d rather see the Green Flu all over again than see Nick. Keith was fucking terrifying and Nick had been sure from the moment they laid eyes on each other that he was going to get shot right in the chest with a shotgun. But no. Keith had given him a nice firm handshake and a half hug and welcomed him to Savannah.

 

He had irrationally expected anger and horror from the family. Gay? Ellis couldn’t be gay! It was honestly stupid to think that. He knew just about everything there was to know about Ellis because the boy just couldn’t shut up. 

“Did I tell you about the time Keith caught me and this one guy-”

“Don’t really want to hear about another guy fucking you while I am, ace.”

 

There had no been reaction and Ellis hadn’t held back his affections around his family. A kiss here, a touch there, hell he’d even plopped himself right into Nick’s lap while they were all sitting around chatting after dinner one night. No one batted an eye or said a word. But Keith, Keith had watched Nick’s every move with that creepy fucking white eye and the gambler caught himself wondering if he could see with it and then he laughed at his own stupidity.  But still, he found himself squirming under the weight of the ginger’s fucking gaze and that terrified him.

 

“What I don’t like,” Keith began as he slowly turned his head to look at Nick, “is that he goes for men like you. He goes for men who don’t give a shit about him in the end. Men who care about themselves.” He took a sip of his tea, smiling a bit and Nick wanted to knock that look off his fucking face. “Last guy, what was that fuck’s name? Samuel I think. Sam’s a real shitty name. Never met a Sam that wasn’t a piece of shit.”

 

Nick had heard this speech a thousand times before, but still he listened because that was a name Ellis had never mentioned before.

 

“Ellis worshipped the ground that man walked on just like he does with you. He was real sweet to him too. Buying Ellis presents and giving him money.  He was a real nice guy for a fucking drug dealer, you know?”

 

Keith leaned in toward Nick, both eyes searching his face. “And I fucking knew shit was wrong because Ellis always had bruises on his chest and his legs and his arms and he ain’t never had an explanation for them.

 

But you know Ellis he always sees the best in people. He ain’t listen when I told him shit would get worse and one day, you listening Nick? One day he calls me crying his eyes out. His sweet Sammy lost a fuck load of cash somehow and offered Ellis up as payment.” His voice dropped low and Nick could see the fire in his eye and he’d never been happier not to be a man named Sam. “Ellis says he passed out after three men used him. I never killed nobody before, you know? But I have burned down a house and I’m not so scared to kill somebody anymore.” He sat back, facing the yard again as he picked up his tea.

 

Nick stared for a good long while at the side of Keith’s head. He suddenly wasn’t terrified so much as he was red hot angry that anyone, _anyone_ would treat _his_ Ellis that way. He turned back to the yard himself as Miss Sara Ann’s Honda pulled into the driveway and Ellis bounced out.

 

“I like you, Keith.” The gambler said simply as Ellis bounded up the stairs to give him a kiss.


End file.
